Senior Manager, HR Operations

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is the historic heart of Harvard University. It is the home of Harvard’s undergraduate program (Harvard College, founded in 1636) as well as all of Harvard’s Ph.D. programs (the Harvard Kenneth

C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, founded in 1872), Harvard Athletics and the Division of Continuing Education. The 40 academic departments and 30+ centers of the FAS support a community unparalleled in its academic excellence across the broadest range of liberal arts and sciences disciplines. Together, the FAS seeks to foster an environment of ambition, curiosity and shared commitment to knowledge and truth that elicits excellence from all members of our community and prepares the next generation of leaders through a transformative educational experience.

The Senior Manager of HR Operations provides strategic leadership and oversight of HR operational functions to ensure efficient, compliant, and service-oriented delivery of human resources transactions, data analytics, and services across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. This role serves as a critical operational partner, leading functional set up and process improvement initiatives. The Senior Manager brings a continuous improvement mindset and a commitment to building scalable, data-driven HR operations that support a diverse and dynamic workforce.

• Manages and develops a team ensuring the accurate and timely processing of all HR lifecycle transactions, including hires/onboarding, rehires, job changes, compensation updates, promotions, transfers, and offboarding/separations for staff.
• Oversees effective and compliant management of Leaves and accommodations for staff and researchers, and partners with Compensation and Analytics to create analytics and reporting capacity for the organization
• Sets clear performance expectations, provides ongoing coaching and feedback, and fosters a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning within the team.
• Monitors team workload, capacity, and coverage, making staffing and prioritization decisions to meet service level commitments.

• Establishes service delivery standards, performance metrics, service level agreements, and accountability frameworks to ensure consistent, high-quality HR service across the organization.
• Leverages data and reporting to identify trends, monitor operational health, and drive decisions that improve HR service quality and responsiveness.
• Leads or sponsors process redesign efforts to streamline workflows, eliminate redundancies, and enhance the overall employee experience.

• Partners closely with Finance and Payroll to ensure accurate alignment, reconciliation, and integrity of employment data across systems and reporting.
• Collaborates with HR Partners, Compensation, Talent Acquisition, and other HR Centers of Excellence to support integrated and seamless HR service delivery.
• Serves as a key liaison between HR Operations and technology teams to support HRIS enhancements, system implementations, and data governance initiatives.

• Ensures organizational compliance with applicable federal and state regulations, including FMLA, applicable state and local leave laws, FLSA, and other employment-related statutes.
• Administers HR processes in accordance with collective bargaining agreements, where applicable, and ensures consistent interpretation and application of institutional policies.
• Monitors regulatory changes and updates internal processes, documentation, and training to ensure ongoing compliance and risk mitigation.

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience required
• Minimum of 8 years’…